Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Look Set to Break Their Streak, Great Lakes Dredge Falls

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.34 percent to 14,489.88 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.45 percent to 3,244.55. The S&P also fell, declining 0.30 percent to 1,558.76.

The S&P 500 looks to be stalling at 1,565, with lower support at 1,540. The Dow is also stalling, holding up at the 14,450 level, while holding lower support at 14,410. The NASDAQ is stalling as well, hovering around 3,260 with support at 3,230. Finally, the Russell is stalling at 955, while holding lower support at 938.

Yesterday, Aeropostale

swung to a loss in the fiscal fourth quarter and issued downbeat forecast for the current quarter. Aeropostale posted a quarterly loss of $671,000, or $0.01 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $26.1 million, or $0.32 per share. Excluding one-time items, Aeropostale earned $0.24 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.22 per share. Its revenue declined 1% to $797.7 million from $808.4 million.

CenterPoint Energy

shot up 7.65 percent to $23.51. CenterPoint Energy, OGE Energy and ArcLight Capital Partners reported that they will combine their assets to form a leading midstream partnership. Shares of OGE Energy

jumped 9.96 percent to $67.46 following the market opening after the company announced a midstream partnership after the close Thursday. Comstock Resources

was also up, gaining 13.38 percent to $18.10 after Rosetta Resources announced its plans to acquire some Permian assets from Comstock Resources for $768 million.

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance

shares tumbled 17.83 percent to $72.61 after the company issued weak forecast. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

plummeted 18.00 percent to $7.36 after the company announced some poor fourth-quarter results this morning. Shares of Team

were down 19.45 percent to $37.44 after the company issued weak Q3 earnings view.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.46 percent to $93.46, while gold traded up 0.01 percent to $1,590.50. Silver traded down 0.03 percent Friday to $28.78, while copper fell 0.54 percent to $3.5175.

European shares were lower as Spanish shares fell on higher bond yields. The Spanish Ibex Index tumbled 0.68 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index fell 0.27 percent. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.40 percent, London's FTSE 100 Index declined 0.65 percent, French CAC 40 Index dipped 0.75 percent and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.34 percent.

The Empire State manufacturing index declined to 9.2 in March, versus 10.0 in the earlier month. However, economists were expecting the index to hold steady at 10. US consumer prices rose 0.7% in February, while the core CPI increased 0.2%. However, economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.6% and the core CPI to gain 0.2%. US industrial production climbed 0.7% in February, beating economists' estimates of a 0.6% rise. The Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to a preliminary reading of 71.8 in March, versus a final reading of 77.6 in February. However, economists were expecting a preliminary reading of 78 in March. Richard Fisher of the Dallas Fed is set to speak on too big to fail in Maryland.